Industrial truck



1950 CIRILLO 2,517,085

INDUSTRIAL TRUCK Filed 00f. 30, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1950 L. ClRlLLO 2,517,085

INDUSTRIAL mucx Filed Oct. 30, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 22 f7 J3 r INVENTOR, I I I WW //'6.3 W

- Aug. 1, 1950 L. CIRILLO 2,517,085

INDUSTRIAL TRUCK Filed 001;. 30, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. 1, 1950 2,517,085 INDUSTRIAL TRUCK Lee Cirillo, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Towmotor Corporation poration of Ohio Cleveland, Ohio, a cor- Application October 30, 1946, Serial No. 706,597

3 Claims.

This invention relates to industrial trucks, and more particularly to industrial trucks of the type wherein a vertical mast is carried by the front of the truck frame-and a load-supporting carriage is slidably mounted with respect to the said a mast with means for raising and loweringthe carriage along thesaid mast. l

: It is the general purpose and object of my invention to provide industrial trucksof this type with a boomassembly comprising a vertically extending portion supported by the carriage and a forwardly projecting arm portion and with cable means supported by the said boom assembly and*provided with means for engaging and disengaging an object, to be transported by l the truck, independently of the operation of the carriage.

In the specificembodiment of my invention, the base oftheuvertical portion of the boom assembly is rotatably supported bythe carriage; the vertical portion of the boom assembly is hollowxior theupassage ofthe cable longitudinally therethrough, and the horizontal or forwardly projecting portion or arm of the boom assembly i provided witha sheave or pulley at the rear and, atithe front end .thereof for guiding the cable; and the operating end of the cable is shown as provided with hooks resembling those with which ice tongs areprovided, whereby objects, such as bales of cotton, may be-engaged and disengagedhtherebyo sInaddition, the boom assembly'comprises a vertical housing section within whichxthe, vertical :portion of the. arm-carrying section is telescopedandwhich latter sectionis adjustably connected to the said housing section, and jack means .are provided to facilitate extension, of *the telescoped members without; effort on the part of the operator.

; Further and stillmore limited features of construction of the present embodiment of my invention are shown in the drawings hereof, wherein Fig. 1 represents a side elevational view of the mast ,of an industrial truck having a load-supporting carriage mounted thereon and the boom assemblyon said carriage and showing also in dot-andedash, lines theiorward end of atruck by which the mast is supported and the positions assumed by the mast and by the carriage and the boomassembly when the carriage and the mast are in, extended positiomand also indicating the manner, in which one ,form of load-engaging means carried; bythe, cable cooperates with an article to be liftedandtransported; Fig. 2 a diagrammatioplan view of an, industrial truck equ ppedwith myboom assembly and illustrating l 2 some of the positions to which the boom assembly may be swung about its vertical axis; Fig. 3 a vertical sectional View, taken between the side members of the mast, and showing the boom assembly in elevation; Figs. 4 and 5 are details in section taken on the lines 4-4 and 5--5 of Fig. 3, respectively; Fig. 6 a front elevational view of the upper portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. '7 a similar view of the lower portion of the'said apparatus, the lower portion of the boomassembly being shown in section; and Fig. 8 a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. Describing the parts by reference characters, 10 denotes the hood, ll one of the side members, 12 one of the front wheels of an industrial truck of a well known type, 13 the side members of the lower mast section, and I4 the side members of the inner or extensible mast section.

l5 denotes the side members and IS the upper spacer bar of the carriage; and ll and I8 denote the upper and lower cross plates which are connected togthe said side members (see Fig. 7) [9 denotes a cross bar which is supported by the side members IBbeneath the spacer bar It and on 2 which the usual forks 2B are shown as supported hereinafter.

at theirupper ends beneath the said spacer bar. 2| denotes a vertical plate the upper end of which is mountedupon the, cross bar is and the sides and upper ends of which are the same general contour as the sides and upper ends of the forks and the rear surface of which engages the cross plate H3. The forwardly projecting lower end22 is shaped to provide an angular annular seat 23 for the outer race 24 of a thrust bearing the inner race 25 whereof is mounted upon a cylindrical seat 26 extendingdownwardly from the inner periphery of an annular horizontal surface 2ii -on a supporting base 27 for the bottom ofHthe boom assembly, which will be described Anti-frictionballs El are shown as interposed between the races 24 and 25.

28 denotes one, of the tilt arms with which trucksof the general character referred to herein are provided, the said tilt arms being secured to the webs of the channeled side members [3, the said tilt arms being provided with the usual means for reciprocating the same whereby the mast assembly maybe tilted forwardly and backwardly bymeans of the hook plate 29 secured to the lower portion thereof and mounted upon the crossbar 30, as shown in Weaver Patent No. 2,299,445, issued October 28,1942. l l

The carriage i providedwith the usual lower rollers 3| and upper rollers 32 which are adapted toi engage respectively the inner surfaces of the 3 rear flanges and the inner surfaces of the front flanges of the side members Hi.

The carriage may be raised and lowered by any of the means customarily employed for this purpose, as by cables (not shown) each connected at one end to the carriage and extending around rollers carried by opposite ends of a cross head 3E on top of a plunger mounted within a vertical cylinder (not shown). The cross head is provided with a saddle 3,6 which is adapted, when the plunger is elevated, to engage a cross member E i connecting the tops of the inner mast members Ml thereby to raise the same. desirable, a pull rod 3? may also be employed for the purpose of assisting in retracting the inner mast after the same shall have been elevated.

The webs of the channeled side members l3 are connected by one or more yokes 38 extending across the rear of the oi the vertical plate 2! and the means supported thereby and cooperating therewith for the support of the boom assembly, the parts thus far described are substantially identical with those which have been employed by one of the leading manufacturers of industrial trucks and hence need no further illustration or description.

3% denotes the outer vertical tubular section of a boom assembly within which the lower vertical portion to of a second section is telescoped. These sections are connected by means of screw bolts 4! threaded through bosses @2 formed with or welded to diametrically opposite portions of the section 39 and adapted to enter vertically spaced apertures as provided-therefor in the lower vertical portion it of the second section, and

each of these screw bolts is shown as provided with an operating handle M The location of these screw bolts and of the apertures with which they cooperate enable an operator on either side of the boom assembly to break the connection between the inner and outer telescoping portions of the sections for the purpose of enabling the secend section to be raised and lowered withrespect to the first section and to thereafter i e-establish such connection.

' The inner section of the boom assembly is provided with the forwardly projecting arm. 40, connected to the vertical portion of said section by a curved elbow 6t 1 M denotes a channeled bracket member which is secured to the elbow Ml and the side flanges of which support the shaft of a sheave 46. ll and 48 denote tubular guide members which are secured to and extend longitudinally of the top of the arm M and All denotes a channeled bracket member which is secured to the forward end of the arm 45 and the side flanges of which support the shaft 56 of a sheave 5!. The sheaves i6 and 5! and the guides 4'3 and 48 are so arranged as to form a horizontal lead for the cable which carries the member or members adapted to engage articles to be raised and lowered by the boom and to be transported by the truck.

52 denotes a guide tube which is secured to the elbow M with its bore in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the vertical sections of the boom assembly, as is also the cable-receiving portion of the sheave 46. The supporting base 21 for the boom assembly is provided with a vertical central bore El therethrough, and into the bottom of said base and registering with said bore there projects the upper end of a :pipe 53 which extends outwardly therefrom and has its outer end extending upwardly and beneath the outer surface of the web of one of the side members [3 of the lower mast section.

54 denotes a cable the front or operating end of which supports rod-engaging means, such as members 55 having hooks 56 at their lower ends and which are pivotally connected at their upper ends to the front end of the cable as by means of a ;clevis 51 supported bythe looped end 54 of the cable.-

The cable extends around the upper surface of the sheave 5|, through the guides 41 and 48,

, around the sheave 48, through the tube 52 and When downwardly through the portion of the elbow 40 beneath said tubathrough the vertical portions of the boom assembly, through the bore 21 and the pipe 53. The lower end of the cable may be Y secured to any one of a vertical series of cleats 58 With the exception with which the web of the appropriate side member of the lower mast is provided, as by means of a looped member 59 carried by the lower end of the cable. Where it is necessary to raise the boom assembly a considerable distance,the lower end of the cable will be movedupwardly along the web of the mast and the loop 59 will he slipped over the top of the appropriate cleat. 0n the other ,hand, where it is necessary to raise the boom assembly only a comparatively short distance, there will bea considerable quantity of slack in the cable, and this slack can be taken up by means of a sheave 60 supported by one 'ofthe side flanges of the upper yoke 33 and around which the bight of'the cable can be passed and the loop there.- after passed beneath the lower portiorrofthe appropriate cleat 58. It isnoted that with. this construction the carriage platform can-be loaded and unloaded with the boom assembly with the platform in any desired position.

. 111 order to facilitate extension of the telescoped boom-members a novel jack means is provided that supports the crane arm on the must while. the carriage and associated telescoped member are lowered. In the preferred embodiment,.5:l denotes the outer sleeve of a .jack by meansrof WhiCh.'fihe forwardlyvprojecting arm v of the iboom assembly may be supported on top of the inner extensible mast section. The sleeve is mounted upon a bar 62 which is pivotallyssupported at '52 upon a downwardly extending lug Esconnected to thew-underside of the arm "40. The bar 52 extends nearly to the swinging end of the sleeve 61 when the parts are in the inoperative position shown in full lines in 3, wherein the outer sleeve and the bar sarelsupported by means of aspringciamp 6.2. For the urpo-sesof retaining the sleeve in proper relation to the bar, the latter is provided at its front or outer end withwa transverse pin 62* 'the'ends of which are mounted in slots 'Bl provided onopposite sides of the sleeve and extending from the swinging end thereof. When the sleeve ism-eleased from the spring clamp, it will be swung into vertical alignment with the lug =63, as shown in dot-and-dash lines on Fig. 3, being retained on the bar 2 by the pin-Bile, and will be in a. position to enable the boom to be preliminary ad justed to a height which will determine the height to which the object engaged by the membersE-E maybe elevated before .being disengaged. In making the height adjustment, the boom support 22 and the boom assembly will lse-lifted by the marriage a sufficient distance to enable the bottom of the sleeve B'l to clear the "top 1'4 oi' themast when the :boom assembly-has been swung about its vertical-axis (as by pulling upon the outer portion of the cable 54') to bring the sleeve in register with the top of thelmastafter which the oarri ag'e will be loweredto .enable the. bottom of the sleeve to'engage the' top of the mast The sleeve then is forced upwardly along the bar that mounts it to surround the joint between the bar 62 and the log 63 with -whichtthe jack will be held rigidly in a verticalposition. The screws 4| can then be disengaged from theapertures in the inner boom member and the carriage lowered which will cause the inner boom section to be withdrawn to the desired extent from the outergsection to set,,the ,arm-,40tatthe desired height above the carriage. When the height of the arm above the, carriage has been thus adjusted in accordance with the particular work on which the boom is to operate, the carriage is manipulated until either of the two conveniently located screws 4| can beinserted into the proper hole 43 "in the inner boom-member. The apparatus will now be ready for operation as soon as the bottom of the jack is lifted from the top of the *mast and re-secured in place beneatl'r the arm. 7 i

The rollers 3| and 32, in cooperation with the rear and front flanges of the inner mastyse'ction, compensate for the thrust imparted to the top and bottom of the carriage by the load suspended from the arm lll when the latter is in its forwardly extending position. However, when the mast assembly is rotated to a. position where the arm 4|] is approximately at right angles to that shown in Fig. 3 (see broken lines on Fig. 2) a severe lateral trust may be exerted upon the top and bottom of the carriage, and this thrust is compensated for by rollers 64 (see Figs. 3, 4 and 8) each mounted upon a horizontal pin 65 and engaging the webs of the side members [4 of the inner mast. Each pin 65 is supported by a, bearing formed in brackets 66 secured to one of the plates 61 which in turn are secured to and project rearwardly from the carriage and form a support for the journals 3| and 32 of the rollers 3| and 32. The pin is secured against longitudinal movement by means of a headless screw 68 mounted in one of the brackets and extending into an annular groove 65 adjacent to one end of the pin. Each of the rollers 64 has a bushing 69 interposed between the same and its pin 65.

The lower portion of the outer boom section 39 is supported from the carriage by means of a split bearing the rear member 69 of which is secured to the vertical plate 2| and the front member 69 of which is detachably connected to the rear member by means of bolts 10.

The outer section 39 has secured thereto, as by welding, a stop member of wedge shape, the apex ll of which is ina vertical plane extending at right angles to the general plane of the carriage and including the vertical axis of the said outer section. The sides of this member are adapted to engage opposite sides of the vertical plate 2|. The construction and the relative positions of the stop member II and the cooperating sides of the plate 2| are preferably such as to enable the arm Ml to be swung approximately 135 from each side of its fore-and-aft position, as indicated in Fig. 2, wherein the body of the truck is diagrammatically shown at 12 and the rear wheels at 13.

The boom assembly may be retained in the position shown in Fig. 3-with the arm Ml extending directly forwardly from the carriage by means of a lug plate 14 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the rear surface of the boom section 39 and a pin 15 mounted in an aperture provided therefor in the said lug plate and adapted to enter an opening 16* provided therefor in the top spacer bar It of the carriage. i

From the foregoing description, taken with the drawings, it is evident that I have provided an industrial truck of the type having a vertical mast and a load supporting carriage slidably mounted on said mast with a boom assembly, and wherein the carriage and the mast are adapted to cooperate effectively in supportingthe boom assembly in various positions which it is desirable that the latter shall occupy, and wherein the load may be removed from the carriage fork or platform with the latter at rest in. any vertical position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In an industrial truck having a vertically extending mast and a load-supporting carriage slidably mounted on said mast and means for raising and lowering said carriage along said mast; a boom having a normally forwardly projeeting arm, a boom support on said carriage including means for pivotally mounting said boom for swinging about a generally vertical axis, cable guide means supported by the outer portion of said arm, the inner portion thereof, and adjacent the area of pivotal support of said boom on the carriage, a cable engaging and guided by said guide means, load-lifting means secured to the forward end of said cable, and means for adjustably securing the other end of said cable to the truck, whereby said boom and boom support assembly elevates with the carriage but said,

cable and load-lifting means may be manipulated independently of the carriage for loading and unloading the carriage.

2. In an industrial truck having a vertically extending mast and a load-supporting carriage slidably mounted on said mast and means for raising and lowering said carriage along said mast; a two-part boom one part being vertically disposed and the other part having a vertical portion telescoped with said one part and a normally forwardly projecting arm portion, a boom support on said carriage including means for pivotally mounting said one boom part for swinging about a generally vertical axis, cable guide means supported by the outer portion of the said arm portion, the inner portion thereof, and adjacent the area of pivotal support of said one boom part on the carriage, a cable engaging and guided by said guide means, load-lifting means secured to the forward end of said cable, and means for adjustably securing the other end of said cable to the truck, whereby said boom and boom support assembly elevates with the carriage but said cable and load-lifting means may be manipulated independently of the carriage for loading and unloading the carraige; and jack means for supporting said other boom part on a part of said mast, said jack means being adjustably mounted on one of said last-named parts for movement into position against the other of said parts, and lock means to selectively secure said telescoped boom parts together against relative sliding, whereby said carriage may be elevated, said jack means positioned between said boom and mast parts, said lock released, said carriage and associated telescoped member lowered, and said telescoped boom parts re-secured in a different relative position.

3. In an industrial truck having a vertically extending mast and a load-supporting carriage slidably mounted on said mast and means for raising and lowering said carriage along said mast; a two-part boom one part being vertically disposed and the other part having a vertical portion telescoped with said. one part and a normally forwardly projecting arm portion, a boom support on said carriage including means for pivotally mounting said one boom part for swinging about a generally vertical axis, cable guide means: supported by the outer portion of the said arm portion, the inner portion thereof, and adjacent the area of pivotal support of said one boom part on the carriage, a cable engaging and guided by said guide means, load-lifting means secured to the forward end of said cable, and means for adjustably securing the other end of said cable to the truck, whereby said boom and boom support assembly elevates with the carriage but said cable and load-lifting means may be manipulated independently of the carriage for loading and unloading the carriage; and a jack bar for supporting said other boom part on a part of said mast, said jack bar having one end pivotally mounted on one of said last-named parts for movement into a vertical position with its other end abutting the other of said parts,

and lock means to selectively secure said telescoped boom parts together against relative sliding, whereby said carriage may be elevated, said jack means positioned between said boom and mast parts, said lock released, said carriage and associated telescoped member lowered, and said telescoped' boom parts re-secured in a difierent relative position.

LEE CIRILLO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 681,175 Condra. Aug. 20, 1901 873,076 Olsen et a1. Dec. 10, 1907 1,175,049 Cull Mar. 14, 1916 1,291,746 Bradney et al Jan. 21, 1919 1,470,296 Stedman Oct. 9, 1923 1,732,191 Evans Oct. v15, 1929 1,837,486 Remde Dec. 22, 1931 2,109,304 Ormsby Feb. 22, 1938 2,342,912 Johnston Feb. 29, 1944 2,413,661 Stokes Dec. 31, 1946 

